Sounders hold off FC Dallas, win fifth straight

The Seattle Sounders continued their rise into the MLS playoff picture on Sunday night, besting conference leaders FC Dallas 2-1 in front of 39,522 at CenturyLink Field.

Uruguayan playmaker Nicolas Lodeiro assisted on the first goal before scoring the game-winner midway through the second half.

With the game tied in 63rd minute, Lodeiro sent in an in-swinging free kick from deep on the right side. Multiple players lunged for the ball, but it somehow found a path through all the bodies, skipped off the FieldTurf, and hit the back of the net for 2-1 lead.

The Sounders (9-9-5, 32 points) have now won five straight and are undefeated in eight games. With a game in hand, they trail Real Salt Lake by three points for the sixth and final Western Conference playoff spot.

Chad Marshall opened the scoring with a 41st-minute header, beating a gaggle of defenders to a near-post Lodeiro corner kick and sending a shot past goalkeeper Jesse Gonzalez for the 1-0 lead. It was the ninth corner kick of the game for the Sounders.

Dominique Badji — making his debut with FC Dallas — equalized for the visitors in the 52nd minute, chesting a short Michael Barrios cross past goalkeeper Stefan Frei to even the score at 1-1. It was the eighth goal of the season for the 25-year-old forward, who joined FC Dallas from the Colorado Rapids in late July.

A wide-open first half failed to generate much excitement in the final third for either team. The hosts had the better of the game, but time and again faltered at the edge of the penalty area. Midsummer acquisition Raul Ruidiaz looked threatening when he touched the ball, but struggled to connect with his midfielders.

FC Dallas defender Reto Ziegler was ejected from the match with a straight red card in the 92nd minute for an altercation involving Ruidiaz.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Nicolas Lodeiro. Recorded his sixth goal and seventh assist of the season.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

The opening goal set the tone for the match, giving the hosts a swagger they never lost even after Dallas equalized.

MATCH TO FORGET

Reggie Cannon. Had more than he could handle from Brad Smith and the left side of the Sounders’ attack.

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Comments

2 comments

captkrob

“an altercation involving Ruidiaz”

What a joke of a reporter this is. You have a future at Fox News. Ruidiaz clearly baited the referee into wrongly sending off Ziegler, a version of events for which pretty much every non-Sounders fan agrees. Yet this writer decides to say just enough about the event to make it sound like it was perhaps Ziegler’s fault.

Sorry I wasn’t able to provide more detail — happens often with very late action that doesn’t directly impact the outcome. It was stoppage time, I didn’t get a great view of it, and I was on deadline and focused on writing to get down to the locker rooms. You document that the referee made the decision and you move on. We’ll probably do an update, especially if the league takes a look at it.

But nothing I wrote implied Ziegler was at fault. Looking back today? Easily justified red to Ziegler (doesn’t matter if you were baited) and likely some retroactive punishment for Ruidiaz as well.

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